Melbourne Victory vs Manchester United

Melbourne Cricket Ground forms the backdrop for the first-ever meeting between Australian side Melbourne Victory and Premier League powerhouse Manchester United in an exciting pre-season friendly.

Melbourne Victory capped off a decent 2022 A-League season with an underwhelming 4-1 home defeat to Western United in the playoff semi-finals. Before that reverse, the ‘Boys in Blue’ had gone unbeaten in 17 competitive outings (W10, D7 – 90mins only), failing to get on the scoresheet just once in that sequence. However, it is worth noting that Tony Popovic’s men have netted under 1.5 goals in four of their last six home fixtures. Yet, they scored precisely three goals in the other two, suggesting they could prove too hot to handle on a good day.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s coaching career at Manchester United got off to a flying start as his new side dismantled fierce rivals Liverpool 4-0 in Thailand last time out. While waiting for the long-awaited arrival of Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, the ‘Red Devils’ can fall back on an impressive showing against Jurgen Klopp’s side that helped them arrest a two-game losing streak without scoring. Yet, excluding that victory over Liverpool on neutral soil, Man United have lost their last six away matches by an aggregate score of 17-2, drawing a blank on four occasions. Indeed, you’d have to go back to a narrow 1-0 win at last season’s Premier League relegation boys Norwich City in December 2021 to find United’s last clean sheet on hostile turf.